By Representative Jeff Merkley (D-Portland). Merkley has served as the Democratic Leader and is expected to be the next Speaker of the Oregon House. More at JeffMerkley.com

This is a new day in Oregon.

On Tuesday voters across the state and across the country told us they wanted a change. Here in Oregon, your House Democrats are that change.

And we couldn’t have made that change without your help. Hundreds of volunteers spent countless hours knocking on doors district by district, neighborhood by neighborhood, talking to voters about what Democrats stand for. And time after time, voters responded. They told us, "That's where we stand, too."

Oregonians are calling for real solutions to make health care more affordable, create good jobs, rebuild our education system and make government accountable to the people of this state. And starting now, we're rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

The keys to our agenda are restoring our state's education system by guaranteeing a full school year with smaller class sizes and expanding head start, making health insurance more affordable, upholding Oregon's minimum wage and standing with working families on the issues that matter most to them.

We hear the voters – they want access to quality health care, regardless of income. We can lower the cost of prescription drugs by expanding Measure 44 to private employers. We can make sure all Oregon children have health care. And we can set ourselves on a path to make health coverage a reality for all Oregonians.

We will work for job growth AND to create a healthier environment. Oregon can lead the way for the rest of the nation. There is great promise in biofuels and renewable energy to create good jobs in every corner of the great state - from Klamath Falls to Gresham.

And we will bring accountability to state government. We will pass real ethics reform. And we will support a strong audit system to make sure that every state agency is delivering the best services in the most efficient way.

This is what we stand for. We are excited to work with the Oregon Senate and Gov. Kulongoski; we are going to get it done. We will work with our Republican colleagues to make Oregon a better place to live.

And we invite you to participate in your state government. Whether it’s mail, email, fax, phone or blog, we want to know how you think we’re doing. If you think the only way to get your message through is to show up outside the Capitol with placards and bullhorns, we’ll clear the sidewalk for you. Democratic participation doesn’t end when you turn in your ballot. In fact, that’s when it really begins.

We offer a heartfelt thank you for your dedication, your hard work and most importantly, for your faith in our ability to get the job done. We wouldn’t be here without you.

In reviewing the voting statistics of who voted, age, ethnicity etc I noticed that only 10% of the 18-24 age bracket voted.
I have kids in that age range and most of their friends did not vote.
I have spoken with friends of mine, who are also parents of the same age group. They agree that this is a problem as well.And the statistics certainly seem to bear witness to this problem.
2 factors that I know from speaking with this age group and their parents come into play and hinder voting among this age group are:
1. Uninformed about the issues and the importance of their vote. Some of my sons' friends said that if people had come to the community college where they go to school and had spoken about the importance of voting, they would have voted. We imagine that people this age are 'tuned into' the internet, media,etc. but many of them don't listen to the radio, read a newspaper, read emails sent about politics, watch TV that is political or any of the ways we think of to get the urge to vote communicated. Until I spoke with them they really didn't think that their vote was important - that it affected their lives in any way.
They were shocked to learn that the college tuition and loans and grants they get to attend school were a direct effect of political decisions and people's votes.
2. Many young people no longer live at their 'permanent' address. So, in Oregon, parents end up with the ballots at their home and often don't forward the ballot to their kid. Sometimes this is because the ballot comes too late and there is not time to send it and have it returned in time. When my daughter turned 18, her ballot came too late for it to be mailed to her as an out of state student, so I sent it by courier with a title company. They then returned it the next day so that her first vote could be counted.
I would like to work with people for the next election to try to raise the percentage of young people voting.
If this is important to you as well, please contact me at [email protected]
Thanks
Libby

Weird. I had meant to blog about the extremely high merit of the members the House majority caucus. (It really is a phenomenal group of people -- each who is taking a pay cut to serve in the legislature. From Merkley to Mary Nolan to Ben Cannon to Chip Shields and on and on -- people wo have started businesses, run nonprofits, taught school, etc. -- just a realy high caliber group.)

Instead, I click to see Libby's post pointing out the important challenge of engaging the next generation. And I'm right there with ya Libby.

The good news is that Reuters just reported that youth turnout was higher this year than in any congressional election in 20 years. We are still waiting on some final Oregon numbers. The Bus's Building Votes crew registered 20,000 folks, and there is big desire around these parts to make a meaningful impact on youth involvement.

A few things that should be done:

1) Voter Access Reforms: Same day voter registration, for example, would have a significant impact on voter turnout. Of the six states that have same day registration, 5 of them are the biggest turnout states in the country. This is particularly important in our vote by mail state. Vote by mail seems to boost turnout generally...but not among young people -- who often don't have stamps and change addresses a lot.

Also, speaking of stamps, we might try "Free Voting." We got complaints this year that the stamp required amounted to a poll tax. And, while stamps cost only dimes (so it's de mininis), it is true that young people often don't have the stamps. Indeed, a study listed the biggest reason young people don't pay their bills as the lack of a stamp. We could make ballot envelopes postage paid.

And I agree that we need a healthy dose of civic engagement in the schools. CIRCLE reported that the biggest indicator of adult civic engagement was whether they got engaged as young people. We need to reach middle schoolers and high schoolers with meaningful civic education.

In any event, there is much more to say, but right this second I have to head off to a high school to do a bit of civic education.

Libby's point is a good one. I note that a number of community college bond levies failed by small margins. Since the 18-24 year old demographic is their primary beneficiary, greater participation would probably have helped pass these bonds and improved access.

We need to go about the process of dismantling the smear-machine that sent out filers with false information while trying to hide where the fliers came from.

By dismantle, I mean create a detailed report, get copies of what was sent, when it was received, who it appeared to come from, who it actually came from, who paid for it, who denied sending it or knowing about it, etc. Reverse engineer the entire thing.

Make full report available to the media and the public. File elsewhere.

Same day voter registration, for example, would have a significant impact on voter turnout. Of the six states that have same day registration, 5 of them are the biggest turnout states in the country.

I think Jefferson is right about this one. We used to have same-day voter registration until we overreacted to some Rajneeshi shenanigans in Antelope. Cases of massive voter fraud like that one are easy enough to identify. Make the penalties for doing it stiff enough and make it clear you will prosecute and it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Same-day registration complicates life for the SOS and the county elections people and it's not a comfortable spot to be in to have to prosecute a voter fraud case but getting more people involved in our democracy is worth it.

People will tell you that people don't vote because they are disenchanted with the system, don't have time or ... but there have been studies done that indicate that the biggest reason most people don't vote is that they just never got in the habit. The best time to capture the interest of those people who just never vote is right before the election when all the activity is at its peak.

Jeff, seeing you move into position as incoming Speaker of the Oregon House over the past 48 hours has been like watching the clouds break after a long wet storm.

Oregon has the opportunity to set a national example (yet again) by guaranteeing equal rights and responsibilities for all its citizens, including our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender citizens. The Democratic Party has adopted Legislative Action Items asking our legislators to address these concerns. And many, many Oregonians are eagerly anticipating finally achieving - or seeing our dear friends and family achieve - long-deserved equal rights and responsibilites in our committed relationships, our employment, and all areas in which we are currently treated unjustly under the law.

GLBT folk are part of the human family, and it's time for the family to work things out. There is nothing LGBT folk wish to take away from anyone else. We have no wish to harm, insult, or destroy anyone else's marriage (as if we even could ... we are not the cause of the high divorce rate). We only want a place at the (round) table for ourselves and our families, alongside everyone. We want to finally move through and beyond this fundamental issue of fairness, equality, and basic human decency, which Oregon has openly struggled with - sometimes bitterly - for more than 20 years.

Oregon Democrats have the moral courage and the integrity to do this work. Oregon and America are ready.

In Washington they can send in their ballots in on election day. Why can't we?

You can, you just have to take it in yourself, rather than mailing it. Have we been so spoiled by vote-by-mail that we can't be expected to expend a little bit of energy to get that vote in at the last minute?

Puting a stamp on your ballot does amount to a poll tax, doesn't it?

Perhaps, but it's a tax in the same way that half a gallon of gas or bus fare to get to a polling place would be. Look, it costs some money to just live in this world. Let's not go around calling everything a tax just because it takes a few pennies out of your pocket.

Jefferson is right, it isn't the $.39, it's having to produce a stamp. Prepaid envelopes would be a worthwhile expense to increase voter turnout.

As a former House member and colleague of Jeff Merkley's, I cannot begin to express in words how proud and grateful I am that he will be the next Oregon House Speaker.

Moderate Oregonians have been the losers for nearly two decades under a hard right republican leadership in Salem.

It is, as Jeff says, a new day in Oregon. But, more importantly, not just for democrats. It is a new day for common sense, middle of the road Oregonians no matter what their political affiliation.

Our new leadership in Salem will rebuild our embattled school system (K through the community college and university level), fight for affordable health care, rebuild our states decimated roads and bridges and, more importantly, rebuild Oregon's reputation as a progressive, national leader that fights for its citizenry...not against them.

Thank you Jeff and all of your house and senate colleagues for keeping up the good fight.

Thanks to Merkley for his vision, leadership, tireless work and genuine team-building. And many many thanks to his wife Mary and his children Jonathan and Brynn who have supported him so steadfastly as he toiled on behalf of all of us!

It will be a new dawn for many good things in Oregon.

Now, just a bit of humor. Anyone else think it's laughable that the person who posted the rant about nameless, faceless smear campaigns goes by Anonymous?

ABC - huh? Why is Jefferson right and I'm wrong? I thought we pretty much said the same thing?

Either way, I don't understand why we would want any restrictions on voting. Why not lift them all? There's a reason Washington allows voters to mail in their ballots on election day - why in the world would you be against that?

I heartily agree with everything you said but as a gay person and a Democrat who lived through the don't-ask-don't-tell fiasco, I'd just as soon that not be the first thing they do. It would really suck if the symbolism of tackling that ahead of other things interfered with making it stick.

I know it just seems wrong that equal rights for everyone should be a controversial and divisive issue--that's because it IS wrong. It is also reality. As we just saw in
Tennessee, Republicans are still using race as a wedge issue in the most despicable ways.

DEMOCRATS SHOULD NOT LET THAT KEEP THEM FROM DOING THE RIGHT THING but I, for one, won't fault them for trying to be strategic about it. I think that's in the best interests of all of us.

I'm as heartily concerned about school funding, our screwed up tax structure, our crumbling infrastructure and land-use and enviromental issues as I am about the fact that I still don't have equal rights. I want our elected Oregon Democrats to fix all that stuff.

Does this mean that there will be no more acting like spoiled 6th graders over petty little items that have no bearing on the big piture? Does this mean that mean spirited legislators will stop berating their fellow legislators in public?

I will belive it when I see it. Don't get me wrong, I am greatful that Jeff (who is from my district)is now the speaker, but I need to see it in action.

Yep. congratulations are in order to Jeff and his crack team of Rottweillers. They focused on their Tier 1 races and were nimble enough not to lose sight of late surges like Sal's effort among others.

To Jeff's post:

We will work for job growth AND to create a healthier environment. Oregon can lead the way for the rest of the nation. There is great promise in biofuels and renewable energy to create good jobs in every corner of the great state - from Klamath Falls to Gresham.

Dan Carol got ridden out of town on a rail a few months back, but there's still room for hope that the Governor (who spoke to the potential in biofuels, wind generation, etcetera on his rural sweep during the campaign) and the Oregon legislature can propel this idea forward.

The fact is that we've ignored for too long the inconvenient fact that most students won't graduate from college and there need to be good living wage jobs for them too.

Energy independence for the state of Oregon is a way to accomplish several worthwhile progressive goals,

One noteworthy ballot measure could be a statewide 26-80-like natural areas bond measure. California just passed one (raising over $5 billion!), and even Florida and Alabama have passed them in the past. Now, it's Oregon's turn!!!

I enthusiastically second Pat Ryan's support for an ambitious sustainable energy program. Short-term, it can produce jobs and stimulate academic and technological development. Long-term, it can make Oregon's economy more resistant to the significant increases in energy costs ahead.

Looking ahead 20 years, this is probably the single most valuable use of our investment in time and money.

But its not just "moderate Oregonians" who are winners this election cycle. Rrogressive and liberal Oregonians are big winners too. Term limits, the Fool's Gold tax cut, and the arbitrary spending limits measures failed in every Oregon county!

Thank you Mr. Merkley. Unfortunately I couldn't vote for you this time as I had in previous elections, as I have moved to Washington County, but I am very heartened by our victories this cycle and that you will be getting the speaker's gavel in the next session.

"Jefferson is right, it isn't the $.39, it's having to produce a stamp. Prepaid envelopes would be a worthwhile expense to increase voter turnout."

I suppose if a stamp will nudge some non-voters into voting, theoretically it might be a good idea. But come on. What kind of voters will you be picking up? There are plenty of self-interest reasons for people to spend some time understanding how the people who are elected will make decisions that have far greater economic impact on their lives than a 39 cent stamp.

At my morning cafe for breakfast, I overhear people boasting about how they don't read the paper and don't watch TV news. Frankly, I would rather not have those participate who are not at least moderately informed when the bulk of their understanding comes from the 30 second hit spots and deceptive advertising they see on TV.

If people choose to not accept their civic responsibility to monitor their government representatives and then exercise their right to vote, buying them a stamp isn't going to change that.

I seem to recall a story from some city (probably not in the US) where people who voted were given a raffle ticket and a chance to win a prize. Maybe we should give every voter a free Megabucks ticket for Wednesday's drawing....

I do agree that the civic knowledge base of our public school grads (or drop-outs) is abysmal. Why is that?

My hearty congratulations, Mr. Merkley! I'm eager to see the progress that is now possible with Democratic majorities in both the state House and Senate.

While it may not be high on everybody's list, I have one request of you, sir. I'm going to be writing my Senator and Representative about bringing back the civil unions and non-discrimination legislation that passed last session in the Senate but was blocked from a fair up or down vote in the House by former Speaker Minnis.

At your earliest convenience, given all the work to be done, please reintroduce this legislation for a vote. I believe the reason Minnis blocked this in the House was that she knew there was enough bipartisan support for it to pass. Let's get this unfinished work of equity done so the Governor can sign it as he's said he would.

You have my strong support to take advantage of the changed political tide to get done all the good work ahead.

Your victory gives me tremendous optimism. I look forward to seeing your planned reforms to stop the legalized form of bribery with gifts and trips to lawmakers that has so tainted our state of late. Be certain your efforts to limit the corrupting influence of lobbyists will be welcomed by Oregonians across the political landscape.

I know that every special interest group on earth will be calling upon the Dems and pressing for action on their particular agenda items. I hope that the Dems will choose to use their power and energy to adopt new laws and programs that serve the highest priority items for the largest number of people notwithstanding what is probably going to be a whirlwind of pressure from every conceivable large and small special interest group. At the risk of sounding prejudiced or cruel or uncaring, when it comes right down to it, if the legislature can only pass a few new initiatives, I sincerely hope that they focus their efforts on schools and health care and tax equity and not on obscure and controvercial measures related to "transgendered rights" or whatever.

You may have to anger some of your core support groups, but that is the cost of governing, right?

I certainly hope that the new majority House Democrats will send some clear public signals (and soon!) that you are fighting for all Oregonians and not just liberal Democrats. Jeff Merkley seems like he will be a great Speaker, but the fact that he is a Portland liberal may give pause to many voters outside of Portland.

You need to put moderate suburban and rural Democrat legislators into key roles to expand the reach of Speaker Merkley's leadership. It would be a great tragedy to win back the majority after all these years and then lose it again in two years.

Show us fairness, balance, and moderation in both issues and House Democratic leaders.

You know, it doesn't help that the election occurs right smack dab in the middle of midterms week for college students. It's hard enough studying for 4+ exams, plus all the papers and everything else that goes into it. Then we're also supposed to somehow magically spend another dozen or so hours doing research on the measures?

That goodness for sources such as WWeek, Mercury, Oregonian, women's voters league, etc who take the time to create biased & unbiased 'voters guides' to help people out sift through the crap.

Of course, I'd say that 50% of young people who don't just never think about it. Ever. It's clearly a family thing that needs to get instilled in them, as it takes a lot of energy to unglue people from their myspace pages and sports games.

The policies and programs which Jeff Merkley and other liberal Democrats espouse benefit all Oregonians, not just "Portland liberals". No one, liberal, moderate, or conservative, is harmed by better-funded schools, a better-protected environment, a fair taxation system, and equality under the law for all Oregonians.

Some groups may have to come a little closer to paying their fair share of our society's "costs of doing business" and some groups may lose unfair advantages they have had under conservative legislatures' domination. But, if someone considers that "harm", then I'd like to know what ethical system that person is operating under.

Building and, where necessary, restoring fairness and equity and organizing ourselves for a sustainable future shouldn't be harmful to anyone whose conscience is clear.

Just so you know, while within Portland's city limits, Jeff's district butts up against that of Karen Minnis' district and is not uber liberal by any means. Mr. Merkley is (from face-to-face meetings BTW) a very level headed progressive CENTRIST. I mean this with all sincerity and not trying to sound vitriolic, but it seems you have bought into inaccurate and cliched stereotypes not only about Mr. Merkley, but "liberals" as well.

To that last point, you might consider that it has been liberal and progressives which did things like built the middle class, electrified rural communities, opened up higher education to vast swaths of the population via things like the GI Bill, etc. so I think we can also stop with the hoo-haw that "liberalism" and "liberals" are bad or suspect. Liberals = Good.

I'd like to give a big "thank you" to Rob Brading and all the folks who helped him in East County. It wasn't just any ol' Dem that Karen was running against out there - it was Rob - and that is what made her spend the boo-koo dollars that weakened the rest of so many other house races. A bitter loss - but we ran the BEST of the GOOD against the WORST of the EVIL and in the end it helped us win back the house.

So my personal gratitude and a big hug to Rob and his wife Karen for having to endure 2 election cycles of public humiliation, vilification and hardship. I will always be grateful for all they had to endure and give up so that so many Oregonians (Democrat, Republican and NAV’s) may now benefit from a soon to be successful legislative session where we can finally deal with Oregon’s woes and help bring better education, affordable health care and all around prosperity for ALL Oregonians.

Oregon’s coming prosperity will be built in part on this one man’s political courage.

At all blue parties across the state may a glass be raised to a man who fought a valiant fight – Rob Brading.

Either way, I don't understand why we would want any restrictions on voting. Why not lift them all? There's a reason Washington allows voters to mail in their ballots on election day - why in the world would you be against that?

Because it complicates and drags out the process of getting the results of the election to very little positive effect. I predict Washington will be changing their rules in the next few years.

You can't lift all the "restrictions" on voting. We still have to count all the votes at some point and declare a winner.

You can drop your ballot off at the last minute, if you don't want to do that, mail it a couple of days early.

I am in favor of postage-paid envelopes--it's not the money it's the hassle. Personally, I always have stamps available but I'll continue to drop my ballot off in a drop box. It just feels more like voting to me even though realistically it's considerably more costly than mailing it.

With all due respect to my fellow Democrats who somehow believe that expanding equality before the law is somehow out of bounds, I beg to differ.

The bill I asked Mr. Merkley to introduce again is a bill that was passed in the last session with bipartisan support in the Senate. And it was going to pass in the House with bipartisan support had Karen Minnis not pulled every abusive parlimentary trick in the book to bottle the legislation up in committee rather than see it get a fair up or down vote in the House.

I'm not asking for anything more than to allow a legislative initiative on behalf of equality to have another chance without being single-handedly thwarted by someone who put her own politics above her office as Speaker. Indeed, the Speaker serves on behalf or all Oregonians. That includes the gay ones too.

Since Tuesday, I have been walking around with an enormous smile on my face. Congratulations to Speaker Merkley, he will be a great speaker.

The Legislature needs to work hard from the gate. We must pass legisltation providing our schools the funding they need. Bond measures are only band-aids. We need to work togehter with the GOP and pass ethics legislation. We must continue to develop alternative energy sources located here in Oregon.

We have a tremendous opportunity to write, discuss and pass all types of progressive measures in the next to years. While we need to utilize our double majority, we also must not forget the strength of the GOP. If we loose one seat in the house, we have a tie. The Republicans must be part of our decision making process. We must be fair to the other side of the aisle.

Finally, we cannot get caught up in the glory of taking control. We must stay level headed -- listen to the voters who put us here. Lets help them make Oregon become a state to set the national model.

We have the unique opportunity to do all this. We cannot waste it away on celebration and rubbing in the faces of the Republicans.

I don't want to get into a brawl with doretta in the afterglow of such a wonderful Democratic victory, but if you're going to throw the stone of mischaracterization you'd do well to make sure your own house isn't glass.

From another poster, I quote:

"I sincerely hope that they focus their efforts on schools and health care and tax equity and not on obscure and controvercial measures related to "transgendered rights" or whatever."

While this points to the transgendered and not explicitly at gay people, the code is easily enough read given that the LGBT community is engaged in the quest for equality under a shared banner. To refer to equality as an "obscure and controvercial [sic] measure" isn't a mischaracterization at all. I stand by my remarks as fair and quite respectfully stated.

(And you know, if you ever become, say, a mother of a toddler who also works 40 hours a week outside the house, you are seriously going to yearn for the days when 4+ exams and a bunch of papers felt like a lot of work.)

Even though I'm still in the "red" part of Oregon, I am so excited about the Democrats taking control of the Oregon House!

Please, please don't jump to the same ideological extremism of the Republicans. We can win back legislative seats here in Bend, but only if House and Senate Democrats and the Governor pursue a mainstream agenda of education, health care, public safety, and economic development. Please don't get sucked into the same rigid ideology (from the left) that killed the Republicans (from the right).

Yep, that's one. You said "my fellow Democrats" and also did not include that quote in your comments. That made it seem like you were implying something wider.

If I'm going to brawl, it's not going to be with you. I also don't consider equal rights to be an extremist agenda or a trivial issue.

I absolutely want SB1000 reintroduced. I just want us to give our new Democratic majority the flexibility to be strategic about when and how they do that. They have many things to deal with that also aren't trivial issues.

One of the campaign tactics that iritated me the most this election was the "Rainy Day Ammendment" tag used with measure 48. It indicated two things to me: 1) supporters of 48 didn't think the measure would pass on its own merits (they were right) and 2)there is broad support for a rainy day fund. I would rather have a bill debated, fought over, tweaked, and rewritten to be the best bill possible than a one shot initiative.

The people of Oregon have spoken. The people in the armpit of liberal social communism have made their choice clear. On election day of 2006 the voters decided to continue to endorse the liberal totalitarianism values of communist socialism that have dictated the direction of the Northwest for over two and a half decades and now beyond. The people have made it crystal clear that they love paying higher taxes. They enjoy being told what to do and when they can do it. They admire a fascist education system that teaches children that they only need to rely on the government and that parents are evil and God does not exist. They applaud a school system that screams that it needs more money, so the corrupt bureaucrats can line their pockets with cash bonuses. They are in awe of a government that allows children to do whatever they want but still holds only the parents responsible. They take pleasure in a government that dictates how business can be run. They relish in a government that will tell what you can and cannot do on your property and then take it away if they feel like it. They take comfort in a government that controls every aspect of their lives, so that they do not have to be responsible for their own decisions. They idolize a government that punishes those that strive for success and rewards those that are too lazy to anything for themselves. They savor the oppression that the government gives them over their personal choices, their freedom, their money, their personal growth and happiness.

I can't find a source for detailed election information, but I'm almost certain that the "only 10% of 18-24 year olds voted" claim that Libby made at the top of this thread is a misreading of the fact that ~10% of voters were in the 18-24 age range. This was certainly the case in the 2004 election, when the identical false claim circulated.

doretta, my friend, we are on the same page. I apologize if my remarks sounded like a broad indictment of all Democrats. It wasn't intended as such. I only wanted to say to those folks who think there's some merit in pealing away parts of the center-left coalition that helped make all our victories on election day possible that we ought not begin using the wedges among ourselves that have been used against us.

In my original comment to Mr. Merkley, I reqested that HB1000 be taken up at the earliest convenience knowing that there are many initiatives that will demand attention. I don't need to be first in line. Just in the line somewhere :)

I echo Cmmr. Leonard's posting: Our new leadership in Salem will rebuild our embattled school system (K through the community college and university level), fight for affordable health care, rebuild our states decimated roads and bridges and, more importantly, rebuild Oregon's reputation as a progressive, national leader that fights for its citizenry...not against them.

And add to that what I posted in a previous thread:

Improve Oregon's business climate. Work toward a sustainable, green, productive, vital economy. Reach out to business leaders and moderate Republicans. Show voters that a unified Democratic government means a bridge between the governor and the legislature, from Salem to Portland, Bend, Medford, and even red eastern Oregon.

This is an exciting time for Democrats, but let's not forget how bad things were around here just a few years ago. Our current economic turnaround is still very fragile.

<h2>And finally, GOVERN. Don't refer a bunch of stuff to the electorate just to score points. GOVERN.</h2>

To Republicans in Congress and in state capitals across the country: It's time to refuse the NRA's support and their money. And donations received in the past should be donated to organizations supporting the survivors of gun violence.